Bail of 5 Accused Including Effat Omar in the Case Filed on the Complaint of Ali Zafar

The Lahore Sessions Court has upheld the interim bail pleas of five accused, including actress Effat Omer, in a case filed by singer and actor Ali Zafar for alleged involvement in a nefarious campaign on social media.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber ​​Crime Wing had on September 28 registered a case against singer Mesha Shafi and eight others for alleged involvement in a nefarious campaign against Ali Zafar. Meesha Shafi, actress, and host Effat Omer, Lena Ghani, Fareeha Ayub, Mahim Javed, Ali Gul, Hazeem-ul-Zaman Khan A case has been registered against Hamna Raza and Syed Faizan Raza.

Additional Sessions Judge Hamid Hussain heard the pleas of five accused named in the cases filed by the FIA. The accused in the case include Fareeha Ayub, Syed Faizan Raza, Effat Umar, Hazimul Zaman Khan, and Ali Gul. The petitioners had argued that they were innocent and the FIA ​​had filed a case against the facts. During the hearing on the petitions, the lawyers of singer Ali Zafar did not oppose the bail.

The court remarked that the sentence and punishment of the accused who were granted bail would be decided in the trial. At the same time, the Sessions Court directed the Federal Investigation Agency to submit the challan soon. Meesha Shafi had accused Ali Zafar of sexual harassment in his tweets in April 2018, which Ali Zafar called false.

Later, Meesha Shafi had also filed a sexual harassment petition against Ali Zafar with the Punjab Ombudsman and the Governor of Punjab, and both the petitions of the singer were rejected. After the rejection of the aforesaid petitions, Ali Zafar had filed a suit against Meesha Shafi in the Sessions Court, Lahore, seeking Rs 1 billion in damages, which has been the subject of dozens of hearings in the last two years.

Ali Zafar and all his 13 witnesses have recorded their statements in the case, while Meesha Shafi's lawyers have also completed cross-examination. In the same case, Meesha Shafi and his mother have also recorded their statements. However, the statements of Meesha Shafi's witnesses have yet to be recorded and cross-examined.

The court will give its verdict on the petition only after the statements of Mesha Shafi's witnesses and cross-examination. However, it is believed that this process may take another three to four months. On the other hand, in late September, on Ali Zafar's complaint, the FIA ​​had filed a case against nine persons, including Mesha Shafi and actress Effat Omer, under cyber crime.

All the personalities are accused of damaging Ali Zafar's reputation by making allegations against him on social media as planned and the same cyber crime is yet to be decided. In addition, since April 2018, at least 3 women have apologized to Ali Zafar for making false allegations.

Among the women who apologized to Ali Zafar were well-known blogger and journalist Mahesh Ijaz, blogger Hamna Raza and a woman named Sufi. The three women had also accused Ali Zafar of harassment in their tweets after Meesha Shafi, but all three later admitted that they made false allegations and apologized to the actor.